MadameNoire
Source: Bill Pugliano / Getty
MADAMENOIRE previously reported, former President Barack Obama celebrated his 60th birthday over the weekend in Martha’s Vineyard with about 200 members of his family and (celebrity) friends.
In the aftermath of photos and videos from the event being leaked, number 44 has been taking a lot of flack for seemingly not having face-mask-wearing precautions enforced at the big party.
That said, TMZ reported around two days ago that Obama had over 1,000 custom masks available for his guests and the staff working the event, all of which were simply printed with his presidency’s number and age on them.
“44×60,” one can see written on the side of the masks.
MN shared in our initial coverage of the party that attendees had all used “44×60” gold embroidered napkins at the dinner that was served at the festivities as well.
The brand behind the masks is HENRY Mask, according to TMZ. Co-founded by designer and celebrity tailor Richfresh, the entrepreneur additionally told the outlet that he was also commissioned to come up with uniforms for the event.
The designs ended up being worn by “hosts, cooks and bartenders” in addition to the masks being given out as party favors to attendees.
A spokesperson for Obama shared that the party planning team’s goal was to heed COVID-related safety precautions from day one of the event being organized, thegrio reported
“[An] outdoor event was planned months ago in accordance with all public health guidelines and with COVID safeguards in place,” the spokesperson shared.
Later, they added, “Due to the new spread of the delta variant over the past week, the president and Mrs. Obama have decided to significantly scale back the event to include only family and close friends.”
Apparently, the original guest list for the event had been around 500 people.
“President Obama is appreciative of others sending their birthday wishes from afar and looks forward to seeing people soon,” the spokesperson added.
The pandemic isn’t over yet, and throughout its ongoing many celebrities and well-known folk have had parties that many of us deemed unnecessary. Read about some of them here.
